August 28, 2017

HELLO WORLD!

We go to service projects each week and wear these shirts!

When will it EVER cool down here? It is still so so hot!  We had a fun a activity today so this will have to be short.

Anyway... I honestly wish I could just send my journal home so you can all read it. We are witnessing so many miracles, and I am just so grateful for how gracious the Lord has been to us here. So many different wonderful people we get to meet.

Exchanges with the Hermanas!

We had one really awesome experience in the wards here! We were asked by the neighboring ward (who have elders, not sisters) to come and talk to the young women about missions! I have NEVER done anything like that on my mission yet, so I was really nervous about it actually. But we got there, and I now know how Young Women Leaders feel... I immediately felt SO much love for these sweet girls! The elders were there first, and they were sharing all these cool experiences. Then they left, it was our turn. We got up and started to talk, and we started to just get to know the girls there. They were all quiet at first, but after we were there, we were all having a great time and they would ask us funny questions! One of my favorites was "what was the worst dinner/food you have eaten?" ;) HAHA! I have to say though... We had asked the girls to raise their hands to see if they wanted to serve. Only like three girls raised them! I was kind of shocked, but I then thought if that was me a couple years ago, I would not have raised my hand. But all I have to say is that my mission has completely changed me. I love my mission so much, even in the trials and the hard times. But that night with the Young Women made me appreciate my mission and how I am so honored to be a tool in the hands of the Lord. This is HIS work, and I am just trying the hardest I can be there for Him. 

Well... I love you all! If you ever have free time... I am always up for letters! ;) I would write you back! :D haha! 

Have a wonderful day! 

Love, Sister Guilott 

Planning Meeting

8/22/17

HOLY COW!! THERE IS AN ECLIPSE TODAY!!! Everyone is outside and freaking out about it... It's SO FUNNY! People are wearing welding masks, these crazy glasses, and having their phones RIGHT ON THEIR FACES. It reminded me of when "Pokemon GO" got popular last year. Everyone is outside and going crazy!!  But we got a text from our District Leaders saying that all missionaries are not to look at the sun.  SO. I am now inside writing a weekly email. ;)

This week was a slower week (teaching wise) but we still found miracles!!  We have been meeting with a wonderful couple the Ren's this week. Back ground story: me and one of my companions a couple months ago met Bro. Ren and we didn't know he was a member at first! He was so kind and he said that his wife was Mormon.  Bro. Ren has not been to church since he was 11. And he has had his children go on missions! But he has had one question about the Book of Mormon that no missionary would ever go over with him. He said that he has had missionaries for the past 30 years come over and try to share messages. But he always wanted to know the timeline of the Book of Mormon. Okay! Back to NOW. Me and my companion met with them again, and we had a awesome member print us out a timeline of the Book of Mormon and we went over to Bro. Ren and taught him! The spirit was so strong and he had MANY questions. My companion is AMAZING and she is a Book of Mormon scriptorian and knew all the answers!! Brother and Sister Ren thanked us! Brother Ren said we were the first missionaries to ever answer his questions that he has been having for years! He said that he will start reading it and wanted us to come back. The couple even invited us back for dinner! BOY OH BOY!! I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THE SPIRIT THAT TAUGHT THEM SO MUCH!! :D 

I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and for all the answers we gain from reading it. I know that it is THE witness of Jesus Christ. I know that if one reads this book, they will come to know their Savior, they will feel of the comforting power of the Holy Ghost, and just as a past prophet Ezra Taft Benson has said: 'The Book of Mormon will change your life." I know that is true. It has changed my life, and I know it will change yours.

I love you all so much!! Thank you for all your prayers and the support you give to the missionaries out in the field. I know that I have felt your love and prayers, and I am so grateful for all of you! I hope you have a great day!! 

Love,
Sister Guilott

Meet Dizzy the bird... it loved our heads. It freaked me out actually. haha! 

Phone Calls and Ice Cream

8/14/17

Sister Rose and I: She is so awesome!

Hello!

We had some incredible miracles this week I want to share with you.  First of all, last Tuesday, my companion and I were doing our planning for the day when we get a call from a caller that showed up as unknown. We were hesitant at first to answer, but we answered anyway. It was a man calling from a city near by (Ripon) and he said that he has a son who had not gone to church for a while, but had remarried a woman with two young daughters. The mom and daughters had heard about the church and were interested in going. They had attended a meeting and loved it! They had even said that they would want to be members! While listening to this phone call... we were DYING. We were so excited to hear about this young mom interested in the church. We got info about her, and we went to her house. We invited an awesome member who lives close by along with her daughter to go with us and we all went over. We were able to teach, and the spirit was so strong and there was such an amazing feeling of love we all had for this lady and her daughters. She committed to come to church and is so excited to learn more! I can't express how much gratitude I have for my Savior and for this miracle we were given. I love being a missionary and for having this call to serve. I know that it is all the Lord and His work. I am humbled to be a part of it.

Another quick funny miracle: We were biking and it was a very slow and very hot day. We were biking and I told my companion: I am stressed. Let's say a prayer! So we did... and immediately, NO JOKE... Our ice cream truck friend came driving by at that moment and he remembered us and gave us free ice cream. He even listened to us and accepted a pamphlet and told us he would read it. MIRACLES!! I was joking afterwards, when I am stressed, we get desserts ;) haha! The Lord knows me, and I am so glad He does. It was just what I needed to lift my spirits and continue on that day.

I love you all! Thanks for reading this email! Hope it brought your spirits up! 

Love, Sister Guilott 

 

Sister Rose with a package! 

After a long hot day working!

A baby frog!

Happy August!

Hello world!

It is Sister Guilott, and yes, I am STILL ALIVE: In spite of a  HEATWAVE for the past like... 6 weeks? BUT ALL IS WELL.

This week has been wonderful! I got my new companion... She is Sister Rose (it is very fitting name for her) and she is from UTAH!!! :D :D HOORAY! ANOTHER UTAH FRIEND!! She is amazing, I love her so much. She is new to the mission field, straight from the MTC, but it seems like she has already been serving for months. I am not training her, it is more like "immersing her in the work." This week I have to admit was pretty crazy and stressful. We now cover two of the biggest wards in the area. But... WE GET A CAR... BLESSINGS. We still bike as much as possible, but we are going everywhere in our area, because the Lord has blessed us with SO MUCH WORK!! 

So something really cool happened. Sister Rose and I were made companions Tuesday. The Elders from the other ward gave us their area book and their car. We looked inside the area book, and it said we have an appointment with a woman with her two daughters (all investigators) at 7 p.m. WHAT?!?!?! MIRACLES!! She we went over and she saw us. She let us in. They were holding Book of Mormons and they said they were reading it. We didn't know what to teach. And this was Sister Rose's first time... BUT SHE WAS SO INSPIRED and did so well. We talked to them about how Christ can help them in their lives. And how they can be comforted in knowing that He knows exactly that they going through. We read with them from the Book of Mormon of how He can help us. The whole room was in tears. The spirit was so strong and they invited us to come back again!! We felt so excited about them! We love them so much, and they said, "it was God that sent sister missionaries" to our area. I am so grateful for the work we are doing. Even though it is stressful going everywhere, it is all worth it. 

I was reading today in the Book of Mormon in Alma chapter 38 verse 10 that said: "And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things." I am forever going to teach and be an example to others. You can find so many blessings in our lives as you follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love my mission so much. I love you all! Thanks for reading this blog and supporting me, I know it can be really random with my ramblings! But I can promise you that you will be blessed by reading missionary's blogs. ;) 

LOVE, 

Sister Guilott 

July 31, 2017

GOOD MORNING!! 

HOLY COW. I am trying not to think of it... but my three month countdown begins tomorrow!! AH! I hate how time flies too quickly. I am so grateful to be a missionary. Last night, I received the CRAZIEST transfer call of my life... My president called me and said that he felt prompted for me to go to Fresno mission, and told me to pack my bags and I am going tomorrow...

.... just kidding. haha. Did I get you?? I hope so. 

We actually did have transfer calls last night.  And my sweet companion is leaving me to go to my FIRST area/ward, in Modesto!! :D I am soooo excited for her and for the crazy experiences she will be able to have! ;) OKAY. Since I love acting, I created a script from the call we got last night so you can see what it was like:

TRANSFER CALLS 

Sister Alderson: Hello! 

Assistants: Hello! You ready for transfer calls?! 

Sister Alderson and Guilott: PLEASE!!! 

Assistants: OKAY! Sister Alderson you will be going to Modesto! 

Sister Alderson: GREAT!!
Sister Guilott: THAT WAS MY FIRST AREA!! 

Sister Alderson and Guilott: *cue girly screams and giggles*

Assistants: ... yep. OKAY! NEXT!! 

Sister Guilott: what is happening to me?

Assistants: you will be training a new missionary. 

Sister Guilott: ... sweet! Okay, what time is.... (interrupted) 

Assistants: Wait! ... and you will be covering the 2nd ward and 3rd ward as well.... 

Sister Guilott: ......

Assistants:..... 

Sister Guilott: .................................................

Assistants: hello?

Sister Guilott: Sorry.... I thought I was having a minor heart attack.

Assistants: Yeah... But we know the Lord will help you. Yeah, this is the craziest assignment we have ever given!  

Sister Guilott: ... Oh... that's cool... 

Assistants: Yeah... Good luck! Good Bye! 

YEP. The Lord really must have A LOT of faith in me in covering the two biggest areas in Oakdale! :D :D :D WHAT?!?!?! Okay. I really feel like Nephi in 1 Nephi 4:6-7, I invite you to go and read that. ;) haha.

BUT!! We are seeing so many miracles in the area, it is crazy. I love this area so much and for the wonderful experiences we are seeing daily! :) 

Here's an experience this week that proves that we are called by the Lord.

 

My companion and I were biking in the heat (what's new?) and we were biking one way to go try another person who seemed interested in learning about the gospel. And then I felt the prompting to go another way... Which was obviously a prompting since the street turns into a HUGE hill that we usually have to walk up, since its too hard to bike up. I told my companion what I felt, and we went that way. We were biking down the street, and I felt the prompting so strong to keep going. We saw the hill and I told my companion not to get off, but to keep biking. She looked at me all confused, but my companion has SO MUCH faith and we kept going. Without having to get off our bikes or shift our gears, WE WENT UP THE HILL. And to our surprise, we were not panting or dying... we felt the spirit so strong, we knew that God needed us to go somewhere quick and He gave us power! I was freaking out inside, because that was seriously a miracle. But we went to this street and saw a sweet Hispanic man (who we later found out was named Sergio), it was like he was glowing. He was doing yard work for a house and we felt like he was the one we needed to talk to. With the little Spanish I know (Thank you past missionaries who gave me things to say!!), he said he wanted to learn more about the church! But right then... the house owner came out, the one he was working for... She looked very concerned. My companion and I got a little nervous. Sergio went back to work, And then we went over and started to talk to the woman. I felt like Ammon, because I started to talk to her and give her compliments. She  LOVE talking with us and she thought we were the sweetest women ever, and she asked us if we needed water. MY SMART companion said YES! The owner went back inside to get us water, and Sergio quickly came back to talk to us again.We quickly asked for his information and we was SUPER EXCITED. Well, the Spanish-speaking missionaries are now teaching him and we are just SO grateful we followed the prompting to go up that HUGE hill. :) :) COOLEST EXPERIENCE EVER!! 

The computers we are on today only have a certain amount of time (we are at the public library since the computers at the church are down).  AND MY TIME IS ALMOST UP.  THANK YOU FOR READING THESE EMAILS. Thank you for the prayers on behalf of missionaries.  I know that this is the Lord's work. I know it and I LOVE IT.

LOVE,

SISTER GUILOTT

Pioneer Day - July 24th

HAPPY PIONEER DAY!!!!

Okay, no one celebrates it here in California.  I woke up all excited that it was Pioneer Day today, and my companion is very confused. I just LOVE my pioneer heritage. As I was biking around here in my area, I started thinking: "... it is really hot today. I am biking in 100 degree weather... in a dress..." THEN I think: "Well. Look what the pioneers had to do!!"  I have a new appreciation for them all, those women walking across the plains in a dress, in the heat... I am so grateful for them,  and they help humble me and help me be more optimistic. Speaking of pioneers, I was able to read a book on the mission called My Heritage and I would recommend all of you to read it. It makes you see the hardships yet the reward the pioneers went through. I love it so much. 

So this week... MIRACLES UPON MIRACLES. I really wish I could strap a camera on my helmet (I would look weird... but what is new...we already look weird I am sure) and have you all see the things I am able to witness DAILY. There are so many little things that the Lord has blessed me to see or to have. Whether it be a cool breeze to bring you to the 90's degrees, or when He sends so many kind people across our path, even though many people have their own churches. I love asking how Christ has been able to influence them in their lives.... or ask for experiences. Even though we all practice differently, God's love and His Son is all the same. I love it. 

This week, we went on exchanges with the hermanas! I love the chance to serve in Spanish, even though I understand little. There is such a sweet spirit these sweet Hispanic people have in my areas. I LOVE IT. Well, cool experience from that: We had been given a referral to go visit a Spanish family, and I have been trying SO hard to practice my Spanish contacting skills. So on our exchange and taught a man named Angel. He is AMAZING. He loved everything that was being said. And he said that he would be going to church this next week and wanted to invite all of his friends to listen to the hermanas... MIRACLES! Even when you are not in your area, you can still have miracles and help the missionaries out in their areas. :) 

But another really cool experience... My companion and I had NO plans last Saturday night... They had all fallen through... We said a prayer asking the Lord to direct us to someone who would be interested. My companion had a feeling to go to a certain street. We went, and we started to knock on doors. We then saw these two men and a woman talking in their garage. I always get a bit nervous when we approach someone for the first time, but I thought of my favorite scripture in 2 Timothy 1:7, and I got the courage to talk to them. They looked to us, and looking confused as we started to talk to them. But we started to have a conversation with them anyway. We asked them if we could share more, and they were very interested and said yes! We had a great discussion with them, and we were able to share about the Restoration. There was this one man, Isaac, and he was so into it. We started to ask about what if there could be one church for everyone. He got ALL excited, saying that he has had that question so much! So we shared about Joseph Smith, and his eyes were suck on us. My companion was very cute, she turned to me and asked me to share the first vision. I looked to Isaac, and I started to share the Joseph Smith story right there. I felt the spirit SO strong, I knew that Isaac was feeling the same thing. He started to get emotional. He then after said, "this is true! This has got to be true. I feel it." WE WERE SO EXCITED! Sadly, Isaac is from a city close by, BUT those missionaries who got that referral will be very happy. :) We are teaching the other man who was there as well. The Lord has prepared so many hearts of the people around us. ALL WE NEED TO DO IS OPEN OUR MOUTHS AND PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL! 

I love my mission. I love it so much. I am so grateful for it. I hope you all have a wonderful week :) STAY COOL!

Love, 

Sister Emily Guilott

July 17th

Hello world!

It has been a joyous week here on the mission. I have to admit though, oppositions were pretty strong. But I know that we are stronger than the adversary, and we were able to overcome the challenges! HA! Beat that adversary.  

We started off teaching our investigator everyday this week: he was receiving all the lessons and it was great! So many people were kind enough to come out teaching with us, which helped our investigator feel so welcomed and loved. Members make the WHOLE difference!  You should go out teaching with missionaries. It will help out so much! And we saw miracles and by the end of this week.... HE WAS BAPTIZED!! :D 

It was amazing. I am so grateful that the Lord was able to place me here, I know that it was by the spirit that our investigator was able to learn and grow. Our investigator, Kelvin, is amazing. He is so happy to be a part of the church. He was able to receive the Holy Ghost AND the Aaronic Priesthood!!! Our bishop is so kind, and he invited us (me and my companion) to be there when he received the Aaronic priesthood. It was the first time i witnessed someone being set apart of something like that, AND IT WAS AMAZING!! The spirit was so strong, it just furthered my testimony to know that the Priesthood is the power of God today on the earth. It is a huge blessing from God, and Kelvin says he is so happy to "be a part of the Brotherhood now." ;) 

I also want to share an incredible experience we had this past week.  My companion and I returned to see a less active man that had told us to come back to see him and and he had invited us to come read scriptures together! He is a doll, and looks like Santa Claus... SO EVEN BETTER RIGHT?! ;)

Well, we came back and we found out his son just moved in with him. So his son joined our conversation.  His son is very knowledgeable about the gospel, which made it kind of hard to talk to him.  This made it hard for his father to follow along with our conversation.  The son was at first telling us all these hard and deep doctrines. We tried to keep the spirit there and tried our best to share a message. The son then asked us a question, I forget exactly what. But he was asking about mercy and justice and what would happen if there was no justice. He was asking for a specific scripture.  His attitude got me flustered but I then felt prompted to pray for the spirit to help so I did and .... NO JOKE, I heard this voice/feeling inside say at that moment: "No God." So I shared that answer with the son. He got big eyed and starred at me.  Then the spirit then told me a scripture: "2 Nephi 2" I looked it up, and shared this scripture that says if there was no opposition, then God would cease to exist. The son got quiet.... said he was very impressed and I was able to bear testimony that the spirit was able to share these things with him. Even though I have all these tabs in my scriptures, it is hard to always remember and pull out the right one.  It was an amazing experience for me and I was so full of gratitude that I was worthy enough to be an instrument in the hands of God at that time and place. I was humbled that God trusted me enough to give me those answers exactly when I needed them to have the spirit be with this family, and that I was not confounded. I am so grateful for these experiences!! :D :D I love my mission and I am so  grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. He lives, I know He does. I love Him so much. 

I hope you all have a great week! :D 

Love, SIster Guilott